The Joy of Creative Work

“To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.” ~ Pearl S. Buck

This week something miraculous happened. I was practicing, recording, and editing a long chapter from my book. It’s a chapter full of deep emotions and realizations. So, in a way it’s fitting that I was moved and changed while working on it.

You may or may not know that creating an audiobook takes a great deal of time. There is the rehearsal time, when I highlight each character’s dialogue. Then I must create a distinct voice for each new character, and remember the voices of the reoccurring ones. The next step is to record the selection and finally the recording must be edited, because no one can produce a recording without mistakes. This editing process often requires rerecording because I didn’t read the text correctly, or I just don’t like the way a section sounds.

At the beginning of each week, I hope to get two or more chapters finished, but that rarely happens. I was feeling discouraged about that. The new semester is going to start in a month and it’s going to be a very busy one. I’m not even halfway through the recording of my book yet. So, I’ll be trying to fit in recording where I can among my other work.

But as I was editing chapter 11 yesterday that miraculous thing happened. I felt a warm excitement in my solar plexus. What I was doing was fun! It felt like I was doing something significant that I have a passion for. And that, more than anything, is what we all long for, meaningful work that energizes us.

I’ve felt this joy in my work before, when I’ve acted or directed a play. I felt it when writing The Space Between Time. But the feeling doesn’t always come at the beginning of the project. It happens as I continue to commit to doing the work. It grows and lingers until sometime after I’ve finished. Who needs drugs when we can have the high of doing work that absolutely engages all our senses and fills us with satisfaction and joy?

And thinking of creative work, it took a lot of people dedicated to their work to get men to the moon all those years ago. Happy Moon Landing anniversary!

I’ve a busy day ahead, so I’ll leave you now. I hope you find joy in the work you do,  in your relationships, and in creating something beautiful. Blessings to you all.

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2019

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. It’s a little bit like Outlander in that it’s a historical, time-travel, magical realism, novel. Except that Jenna’s life is shattered. When she finds old journals, she joins consciousness with her three-times great-grandmother, Morgan, rather than traveling physically. She is able to come back at intervals and apply what she’s learned to her own life situations.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list.